Anyone taking Lexapro? Have taken it before?

[OCNewbie]

LOL. It takes 1-2 weeks for them to have any affect.

This isn't true in my experience. Within 24 hours I have started having anorgasmia with a few different SSRI's. This has been years ago, but I recall experiencing this with Zoloft, Paxil, and possibly Prozac as well.

 

[Carmen813]

It is not inaccurate.

"On Sept 14, 2004, an FDA panel voted 18 to 5 to require manufacturers of all antidepressants to add black box warnings to their product labeling. A month later, the FDA adopted the panel's recommendations. The warning reads in part: "Antidepressants increased the risk of suicidal thinking and behavior (suicidality) in short-term studies in children and adolescents with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and other psychiatric disorders. Anyone considering the use of [Drug Name] or any other antidepressant in a child or adolescent must balance this risk with the clinical need. Patients who are started on therapy should be observed closely for clinical worsening, suicidality, or unusual changes in behavior."

http://www.mcmanweb.com/FDA_suicide.htm


In case you don't know, suicidality is the act of taking ones own life.


It is significant enough for the FDA to issue a suicide warning be placed on antidepressant packaging.

There has been considerable debate about the FDAs warning, and that quote you provided is out of date. The FDA acted under pressure from Congress and Parents because the research is just not yet clear. Significant research has been done since 2004 trying to examine the impact of antidepressants in greater detail.

Perhaps it's a language difference, but I believe saying that antidepressants "enable" a person to commit suicide is inaccurate. It implies causality when we only have correlational evidence. Increased risk, yes, enable, no.

The original warning applied only to children and adolescents, and the current warning adds that young adults (age 18 - 24) may have increased risk of suicidal thoughts or behavior during the first couple months of treatment. This makes a great deal of sense when you consider that the brains of these individuals are still developing.

It's important to distinguish between suicide warning signs and risk factors. Many things are risk factors, and these tend to be things you would "check mark" about an individual. They are passive. Warning signs are active behaviors that can indicate an imminent risk and are a much more significant concern.

Practitioners need to weigh potential harm with potential good. There is also some evidence that the FDA warning may be doing more harm than good. It has caused a drop off in the use of antidepressants which some evidence suggest has actually caused suicide rates to increase due to lack of proper treatment.

Press headlines are misleading because they will say things like "antidepressants double risk of suicide in adolescents." That may be true, but those numbers usually mean something like a risk from 3 in 1000 to 7 in 1000. If the vast majority of users who have positively benefited from antidepressants stop taking them because of sensationalized fear than we will actually end up doing more harm.

Again, I don't advocate using only anti-depressants. I am not a particular fan of prescribing them for use in children or adolescents, or prescribing them without requiring a patient to also receive counseling. These are powerful medications that can have huge side effects. They require careful monitoring and should be paired with psychotherapy because a drug most often cannot address the underlying reasons that a person is depressed. Outcome research shows that the best treatment for symptom relief is a combination of medications and therapy.

 

[coreyb]

on the flip, antidepressant medication has also ENABLED people to commit suicide. read about it.

i don't see much bad advice here at all. these meds are not magic drugs to take all adversity and sadness away. these things are part of life, and seeing a therapist/counselor/psychiatrist can help you deal with life when it becomes overwhelming.

counseling should always come first before taking medication. i don't see that the op has done this. which is a shame.

im aware of the suicides. you have to remember an alarmingly high amount of people with depression commit suicide with or without antidepressants anyway.

i would call medical advice from someone who's not a doctor/psychiatrist/etc bad advice, so there's lots of that going on here.

antidepressants save MUCH more lives then it does ruin them.

 

[punjabiplaya]

im aware of the suicides. you have to remember an alarmingly high amount of people with depression commit suicide with or without antidepressants anyway.

i would call medical advice from someone who's not a doctor/psychiatrist/etc bad advice, so there's lots of that going on here.

antidepressants save MUCH more lives then it does ruin them.

OP asked about side effects - I told him mine.

 

[thomsbrain]

It's hip to trash psych meds, especially on these forums. I'll say this: I had ZERO side effects from my SSRI after the first week or two to get used to it. I feel worlds better.

I also work in the mental health field and have seen first-hand some amazing transformations of clients who got the right meds. I've seen meds not work, too, but just because one loud-mouth complains that one med made him feel bad doesn't mean that ALL meds are wrong for ALL people.

 

[zerocool84]

It's hip to trash psych meds, especially on these forums. I'll say this: I had ZERO side effects from my SSRI after the first week or two to get used to it. I feel worlds better.

I also work in the mental health field and have seen first-hand some amazing transformations of clients who got the right meds. I've seen meds not work, too, but just because one loud-mouth complains that one med made him feel bad doesn't mean that ALL meds are wrong for ALL people.

Well I don't care about these people saying it made them feel bad but my problem is that people take ONLY the meds. People need to talk to a mental health physician AND THEN get on some meds prescribed by the psychologist if therapy doesn't work. I don't think regular docs are qualified to give out mental health meds at all.

 

[ShawnD1]

Well I don't care about these people saying it made them feel bad but my problem is that people take ONLY the meds. People need to talk to a mental health physician AND THEN get on some meds prescribed by the psychologist if therapy doesn't work. I don't think regular docs are qualified to give out mental health meds at all.

Most head doctors shouldn't give them out either. Ever see those cases where people are taking 5+ brain medications at the same time, and half of them seem to contradict the other half? You can pick them yourself and come up with equally horrible combinations.

Hey everyone, let's take Wellbutrin (dopamine agonist and stimulant) at the same time as Seroquel (dopamine antagonist and strong depressant).
I know someone who takes both of these at the same time. Obviously it doesn't work. That's like removing the oil plug from your car then trying to add oil. Filling it while at the same time trying to empty it.